Premier Paper has become the UK’s first paper supplier to participate in the Zaikio Procurement online platform, allowing its range of papers and other substrates to be viewed and ordered online via one portal.

The Zaikio platform has established itself in the central European market over the last year, linking to the Metapaper e-commerce site launched earlier in 2021, and enables various MIS and ERP software to connect to paper vendors’ sites to simplify ordering and stock management. Premier is the first major paper suppler for the UK market to join the platform, bringing its entire range online for printers participating in the system.

Printers can use the product without any installation and free of charge to organise substrate selection and supply. Those who use MIS/ERP products that are already linked to Zaikio (a group that includes Heidelberg Prinect, PrintPlus U-Traxx, PrintVis and Keyline MIS) can order from within those environments; other customers can use the Zaikio Procurement software.

‘We are constantly looking to improve our service and to give our customers the opportunity to search for and order their desired material directly and without fuss. We aim to be a supplier that is easy to deal with and Zaikio Procurement simplifies the ordering process and frees up valuable time and resources for our customers,’ commented David Jones, marketing director at Premier.

Karl Ciz, partner success manager at Zaikio, added, ‘Zaikio has global ambitions and Premier’s involvement will be incredibly valuable to the UK automated procurement service. This way we can really help UK printers in their daily challenges. More partners, countries and markets will follow in the coming months.’

Antalis, Sappi and Metapaper are already connected to the platform across Europe and others are expected to join, as are suppliers of ink and plates, according to Zaikio. Antalis also recently implemented an integration that provides similar capabilities with the PrintLogic MIS.